Chemistry 7
Chemistry 7 Dedicated to Rich Tanya Scott Smiley Mark Dante and Alx by Christopher Bradley 4/14/00 12:28:48 AM December twenty third nineteen ninety two The end of my first year home from Chicago First go at the Biz for myself I had only an inkling of what I was in for. Scott and I drove up to Tanya's early in the day She lived a few streets down behind Yonge and Bay In a large Red Brick apartment With narrow staircases. Scott and I met some of her roomates And then went for a walk to get Pizza and Change. It was a long walk across to Yonge on foot. And we encountered some interesting places along the way. Somehow weeks later I would find a highly liberal magazine Dedicated to Angry Dykes In the trunk of the Shadow I think we had thought it was amusing during our walk. We found a small Italian Restaurant Had a slice or two and a soda And then resumed until we found the Arcade. It was almost straight ahead when we got to Yonge. The vendor sold us neatly wrapped Loonies and a bundle of red twos. We walked back Barely aware of our own conversation. I was still in amazement at my luck Sean had gone to Europe and I was stuck with an exclusive party. It was as if the world had fallen into my lap. We snagged Tanya and had her walk us to the subway and we met Rich the skater David's friend Soon to be the only sober one among us. We packed Tanya's boyfriend into the car with all of us and stopped at a Mini-Mart to buy all of their Ice. The bags melted slowly all around my backseat passengers. And then we were on our way East to the hidden warehouse. The structure was longer than I had imagined but had a low ceiling. We walked along a Handicapped access ramp at about 9:20. And dragged the water and Ice behind us. I dropped my bags in the entranceway when I saw it It was more than just a test image It was the Lawnmower Man He was twisting hexagonal cubes attempting to escape cyber confinement. The projectors were replicating him on every available wall Tiny camera looking things Attached to girders in the ceiling The speakers were vibrating the room without any music playing. I saw Alx and asked where we were to go He showed us to a small room Where I thought we would never be seen There was a blacklight bulb in the ceiling. We grabbed a board with a Jack O Lantern painted on it And made a makeshift table with a rough metal frame and Drew Posters on Neon Red and Green Poster Board And hung them on the sweaty thin grey wooden walls. I organized the change in the cashbox Opened the powders Mixed some test drinks And then it was time to find a fix. We found our paper and shared it One hit of the Dreamscape was enough And we were sizzling when the first bass beat rolled. Rich would help us keep our heads together and we barely knew him. Tanya was going to get what she wanted I promised her a trip home to Detroit I was thinking about shopping for Records and stopping off at Karl's We could never predict that she'd be riding home with a broken nose. Tanya was the candy girl I sent her into the masses with Smarties at midnight To hand them out with paper flyers Printed out on my 520 and photocopied at OfficeMax. Mental Jackhammer was having its first run with customers winding their way into our little party room Following the flashes of the Strobe Light against the wall And lining up for Fast Blast and Brain Boost. Scott was a confused Mixer While Rich sorted the Cups And I counted the change. Everything was going smoothly. We were addressed by the Master's of Ceremony And motioned into acts of dancing Working the table to the selections of Dr. No Mark Oliver and Alx. I didn't know the title at the time But it was the first time I would hear The Future Sound of London's Papua New Guinea Wailing through the warm air Washing chills through the crowd. I walked among them Seeing women in silver sequined suits Smiling and laughing as if in orbit Feeling like my black canvas converse were the soft cushions of moon boots. There was a game to play I looked on at the fried teens with their heads in round helmets standing on magnetic plates trying to kill the virtual pterodactyl that swooped down from its perch to lift them into the air and drop their cartoon bodies to the perfectly flat pavement where they shattered and began again. I was told it was driven by a high end Amiga. In the catacombic rooms at the back bodies writhed against the cold floor Some of them cross legged Waving their heads entranced To the gentle electronic buzzings Infiltrating their minds. A Jester in a Riot sock looped through the crowd Grinning Knowing that a good part of this madness was his doing. Coming around and through the back I encountered Smiley and his Italian friend. They had bought drinks And they wanted to let me know that they loved us. I told them that I loved them too And walked them around to the bar Stealing two cups from Scott and sharing them with Smiley and his friend. Smiley offered me some Vicks to put under my nose and I accepted The vapors stirred the paisley spirals Out of my tricking Axons and They vanished and the line became convulsive. There were hands reaching for the bar And before I knew it We had run out of twos. I told Tanya to get in front of the door And let no one enter. That was a sight I wrangled in my mind for a solution to the problem of the twos And looked to Scott for help But he was lost in the cups with the Braun Blender And I noticed that people were frantically trying to push past Tanya Her petite body was being pushed back And her arms were stretched from the door. As they washed in and she rushed back to the bar I noticed the Loonies And Scott and Rich laughed as the Ice melted in the colored plastic goblets. We had the means to make change for the moment at least. At 3:30 the celebrities came calling Mark Oliver and his Zebra clad girl Dropped twenty for two drinks And gave us some African Gum That minted our mouths Until almost the end. Rich talked Tanya into filling cups with Ice Even when there were twenty full And she ran to get a big bucket from the water bar When ours was finally liquid in bags In the dust on the concrete. And then Dante was there With a bald head and a centaur's Goatee Looking like an incarnation of the devil himself And he handed me a business card And another twenty And said we should all come to New York And work at one of his parties. It seemed so far away But his face was domestic at least A reminder that we were Americans Toiling on foreign soil. At some point in there Tanya's boyfriend danced carelessly And his fist cracked cartilage Her nose was bleeding The best we could do Is give her some ice. Dante's friend came to visit us later He bought drinks too He was a black man With short Jamaican dreads With a muscular build Sporting bright yellow overalls He was the last of the out of towners that we saw that night. Scott had gotten himself up there somewhere To a place I dared not voyage Because some tall kid had given him Something special for free. The sun was starting to shine through the windows And the inside of my eyelids kept flashing Even after we turned off the strobe And I watched the dancers continue to lock their joints on the floor Even after the music receded. It was time to count up the various colored bills Give Alx two hundred for our wonderful space Gather up the powders and lights And meet back at Tanyas. That morning in her living room I thought I saw the floating letters For the name of a new Rave promotions team In a painting of a red Mars Scape on the wall behind her. I couldn't help thinking that her nose was partly my responsibility But I can't choose the friends of strangers And I couldn't do anything but drive them home again And sit and watch her swelling nostrils. My eyes twisted the letters into the word Phoicos. And I made the pronouncement That one day we would have a party And one day not so far off into the future We did. Category:Catalog